


Starbucks

by Sage (sageness)



Series: DSSS 2012 is coming! [4]
Category: due South
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-23
Updated: 2012-09-23
Packaged: 2017-11-14 21:57:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/519933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sageness/pseuds/Sage
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Due South Seekrit Santa is coming!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Starbucks

  
[ ](http://ds-ssdiscussion.livejournal.com)   


  


  


"We're done, right?" Elaine hefted her Macy's bag over her shoulder and balanced her giant and fragile purchases from Crate & Barrel on her hip. She only hoped her purse was buried somewhere underneath.

Frannie chewed her lip, eyed her own hoard from eight separate stores, and said, "I'm hungry. Are you hungry?"

"Starbucks? We could get coffee."

"We could figure out what we're going to do for Due South Seekrit Santa! Let's go!"

Frannie navigated them through the holiday crowds with expert skill, which was really no wonder, given the size of Frannie's family. Holiday shopping for the Vecchio household had to be something you learned early and learned well. Elaine had some aunts and uncles out in California, but she was all that was left of the Illinois branch of her family. That meant shopping for her old friends at 2-7 and her new partner at the 1-9. And for Frannie.

Ahead, Frannie jogged into the Starbucks café area outside their corner shop and pounced on an empty table before anyone else could claim it. Elaine smiled blandly at a pair of thwarted patrons as she caught up. Frannie was divesting herself of her bags and coat, creating a small mountain next to her chair. Then she slid out the other chair for Elaine and said, "I'll get the food. Your usual?"

Elaine nodded gratefully and sank into the chair. She'd worked a full shift earlier, which had included two domestic calls, two robberies, one repeat welfare check on a woman with a paranoid mother, and more paperwork than she'd thought possible. And now hours of holiday shopping. From where she was sitting, she could see the entrance to Santa's Wonderland and the end of the line of kids and parents waiting to get their photo taken with Santa. They all looked exhausted, too.

A few minutes later, Frannie returned bearing caffeine, sandwiches, and pastries. "The croissants are fresh! The smell was just to die for, I couldn't resist. I'm not so sure about the sandwiches, but at this point I don't care. I could probably eat a moose."

Elaine reached out and squeezed Frannie's hand. "Thank you."

Frannie waved the gratitude away like she always did. "It's nothing. It's been a crazy day." She took a deep drink of her drink, which smelled like it was probably a pumpkin spice Frappuccino, and let out a contented sigh. 

Elaine smiled at her fondly before taking a sip of her own mocha latte. It was just sweet enough. "This is perfect," she said, and Frannie's smile was small and pleased.

"So, I'm supposed to write a story for Harding," Frannie started.

"Lalalala!" Elaine raised her hands. "You're not supposed to tell!"

Frannie sighed. "I was about to ask if you would beta it."

Elaine rolled her eyes. "Of course I will. Don't be silly."

"Thank you!" Frannie said. "So, he wants some kind of casefic, and I have absolutely no idea how to do that, so this is the part where I ask for help." She batted her eyelashes. "Help?"

Elaine laughed helplessly. "Frannie, you deal with cases all day! You don't need my help."

Frannie squinted at her, looked suspiciously at her croissant, and made a face. "Okay, you might have a point."

Elaine smiled encouragingly. "You can totally do this."

Frannie hummed. "I could write about the bank-robbing santas, maybe…or maybe not. I mean, does it count if it really happened?"

Elaine shrugged. "Change it up, then. He still tells stories about the Bounty replica. Maybe the fearless lieutenant and some lovely and brilliant detective solve a case on a lake boat?"

"Yes! I love that! Thank you!" Frannie was scribbling frantically in her notebook. "There could be smugglers."

"Smuggling what?" Elaine asked around a bite of her sandwich. It was chicken salad, but it was still reasonably fresh.

Frannie frowned. "Something pretty." She looked out at the storefronts around them. "Lingerie, maybe? High-end stuff that's better than what they have at Victoria's Secret? Or Manolo Blahnik shoes. And Prada bags! Because those things can go in boxes and don't get all wrinkled like dresses would."

Elaine nodded and firmly did not ask Frannie what any of that stuff would be doing on boats that usually hauled raw industrial material. After all, if you could stack it, it could go in a shipping container. That was all that mattered.

"I need a villain," Frannie said suddenly, eyes wide.

Elaine gazed back at her, smiling slightly. "How many interrogations have you done again? Unofficially?"

Frannie snorted behind her hand, and then let out a giddy little laugh. "Yeah, that's a point." She started scribbling more notes, a terrifying smirk on her lips as she figured out what her bad guy was up to.

Elaine downed another inch of her mocha and took out her own notebook. Her own recipient was Inspector Thatcher. So far, Elaine had only the barest germ of an idea for an espionage thriller, but as she jotted down the words _consulate ball, explosive high heels, micro-disk,_ and _helicopter_ , she suddenly knew exactly what she wanted to write.


End file.
